Dicata odhneri

Dicata odhneri Schmekel, 1967

• Favorinus albus Odhner, 1914

Description
This is a small aeolidacean as the specimens rarely exceed 10 mm in length. It’s an easy species to identify because of its colour homogeneity: the whole body is white except the final third of the rhinophores and oral tentacles, that are bright yellow. In some specimens the opaque white pigment of the body is dispersed and then the body is slightly translucent while, in Atlantic specimens, the absence of white pigment in the cerata makes them look somewhat dark. Rhinophores are smooth throughout its length and oral tentacles are somewhat shorter than the rhinophores. The eyes are barely visible right behind the base of each rhinophore. The cerata are gathered in 7-8 groups on each side of the body, and consist of only one row of cerata; they are elongated, fusiform and somewhat narrower at the base. The tip of the cerata is sharp and usually slightly depigmented. The foot is white and in his front end it has two triangular shaped propodial palps.

Biology
The biology of this newly described species is still very little known. Its small size and cryptic coloration on many substrates make it go unnoticed to the eye of the diver. It has been cited laying among algae, sponges and colonies of gymnoblastic hidrozoans of the genus Podocoryne, between 6 and 45 m deep. The spawn is a spiral ribbon with white eggs about 80 microns in diameter (Schmekel, 1967).

Etymology

• Dicata: from Latin “dicata“, present passive participle of “dicar“, means “dedicated to …”
• Odhneri. Dedicated to Prof.Dr.Nils Hjalmar Odhner (1884-1973), specialist on molluscs at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, succeded Bock (q.v.) as professor of invertebrate zoology and director of this museum department in 1946, until his retirement in 1949, when he was succeded by Karl Lang (q.v.). However, he continued to work and published (from 1907 on) until 1968. His interest in molluscs was broad, albeit his special area concerned opisthobranchs.

Distribution
This species is distributed throughout the western Mediterranean and European Atlantic coasts up to the British Isles, including the Azores and the Canary islands. In the Iberian Peninsula (Cervera et al. 2004) it has been reported in the coast of Portugal, in the Andalusian Mediterranean and along the Catalan coast (Es Caials, Cadaqués, Roses) (Ballesteros, 2007), although findings are rare.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Dicata odhneri

Sources:
OBIS GROC 2010-2011 Enric Madrenas João Pedro Silva Bernard Picton GBIF	OPK VIMAR Manuel Ballesteros M@re Nostrum Altres fonts Marine Regions

Similar species
Trinchesia miniostriata, with similar colour and size, rhinophores and oral tentacles lack the yellow tips, has red lined on the rear side of rhinophores, missing on D.odhneri.

Videos

More pictures

Dicata odhneri by Enric Madrenas

Dicata odhneri by Enric Madrenas

Dicata odhneri by Enric Madrenas

Dicata odhneri by Bernard Picton

Dicata odhneri @ Tarifa by Manuel Martínez Chacón

Dicata odhneri @ Playa de las Canteras, Gran Canaria by Alberto Navarro

Dicata odhneri @ Sicily, Italy by Lara Orselli

Dicata odhneri by Nani Díez

Dicata odhneri by Nani Díez

Dicata odhneri @ Tarifa (Spain) by José Carlos García Gómez

Bibliography

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Bibliography based on the works by Steve Long, 2006. Bibliography of Opisthobranchia 1554-2000 and Gary McDonald, 2009. Bibliographia Nudibranchia, with later updates from other resources.

Further reading

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